Friday, November 13, 2015

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy raps President Obama ignores Congress, chooses to go it alone while disrespecting elected officials

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill:

"We’ve all taken civics or at least watched Schoolhouse Rock, so we know that the legislative branch passes laws, the executive branch executes them, and the judicial branch interprets.

"But I don’t think we realize the degree to which this system has been lost under the Obama Administration. There are good reasons why the founders did it this way. It means no one branch has the power to do whatever it wants. That is a bulwark against tyranny.

"But the Obama Administration has turned this system on its head. When faced with Congressional opposition, the President doesn’t try to reach an agreement. He goes it alone and is proud of it.

"By design, Congress works slowly. But the President’s actions have been so blatantly wrong that the courts have stopped them before they could be implemented. From immigration to the Waters of the U.S. rule that threatened private property to regulations on hydraulic fracturing, the House worked to block the actions AND the courts said “no.” Two branches were unified saying that the other went too far.

"And all the while precious time has been spent fighting to stop executive actions that are illegitimate and should have never been attempted in the first place.

"The President’s disrespect for the people’s directly elected representatives, for the law as written, and for our constitutional system has become more and more obvious throughout his years in office.

"But that does not mean Congress will stop working. As Speaker Ryan said, we will be a proposition party, putting forward big ideas done the right way. Then, the people will choose not just between two different ideas of policy, but also choose whether they want our constitutional system to work as intended or whether it will break down into rule by whatever the executive branch decides to do that day.